This invention relates to heat dissipating means for an internal combustion engine, and more particularly concerns heat conducting means mounted atop an internal combustion engine in association with the valve cover for said engine.
All internal combustion engines are provided with cooling systems which remove a major portion of the heat generated by the combustion of the fuel. Such cooling systems are of two general types, namely air-cooled systems wherein vanes on the exterior of the engine convectively transfer heat to air which is either forced past said vanes or is in passive contact therewith; and liquid cooled systems wherein a fluid coolant is circulated through channels within an engine block adjacent the cylinders. Air-cooling is generally restricted to engines of relatively low horsepower unless very special design considerations are incorporated. Although some heat is radiated from the exterior surface of an engine to the ambient air, such mode of heat removal is usually of minimal significance for proper engine operation.
The intake and exhaust valves which service the cylinders of a four stroke engine are particularly vulnerable to the effects of engine over-heating because the tapered seating peripheries of the valve heads are thin and susceptible to burning and malformation. The effects of uneven overheating of the valve heads further produces warping with consequent uneven seating. The valves are generally accessible on the exterior of the engine block, and are protected by a valve cover panel which makes an impervious fit with the engine block to form an oil-retaining chamber that engulfs said valves. Earlier attempts to remedy the problems of valve overheating have required extensive redesign of either the engine block or the valve cover panel, or have caused difficulty in gaining access to the valves.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide heat-dissipating means for use in a four stroke internal combustion engine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide heat-dissipating means as in the foregoing object in the form of a device capable of easy installation in association with a valve cover panel of said engine.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a heat dissipating device of the aforesaid nature which facilitates access to said valves.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a heat-dissipating device of the aforesaid nature of simple and rugged construction which may be economically manufactured.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.